Learning to Love
by Cheez Wizz
Summary: Lily never wanted James to like her. But then again, she never wanted to live with him, or have a thing for his best friend either. Seventh year will be unbearable unless she learns to love the one person she can't stand: James Potter himself.
1. Train Ride

CHAPTER ONE: Train Ride

_God save me. What a prat. _Lily could not believe she had to live through a whole new year at school with James following her around. She watched him as he walked down the platform towards her. James was followed closely by his usual friends, Remus, Sirius, and Peter. The group called themselves the "Marauders," famous for their pranks on the less fortunate. _What a stupid little name. _Lily was amazed that they hadn't been expelled with all of the stupid and cruel things they were constantly pulling.

She was more than amazed though, that James had been elected Head Boy. _What a joke. _The most amazing thing of all was that they expected her to be Head Girl alongside with him. _An even bigger joke, but a very mean one_. He was gesticulating with his hands as he talked; his friends all seemed to be listening closely. They all laughed suddenly, except Remus who just smiled. As she watched them she admitted to herself it was undeniable that some of them had good looks.

Sirius had smooth black hair that fell over his dark gray eyes in an elegant sort of way. Lily had always thought he was horribly repulsive though, so had never spent any of her time fancying him. Remus seemed the most her type out of all of them. He seemed to be the nicest, smartest, and had his own share of looks as well. _ Why didn't they make him Head boy?_ Lily wondered. Peter, well he was just there to balance things out, although that sounded mean. He didn't have much that was special about him to speak of.

James was not her type, in looks, and especially in personality. She hated his stupid messy hair, and the way he always made it stick up in the back. She hated his ugly glasses; they were always crooked, just like his clothes. She hated James Potter with every ounce in her body.

James on the other hand, practically obsessed over her. His pages were filled with his and her initials intertwined, or doodles of them together, often to the displeasure of his professors. He had thought she was beautiful the second he laid eyes on her, oddly enough, at age eleven. He had been pursuing her ever since. If she had been counting, Lily would have known she had turned him down fifty-seven times since James had first met her. He was relentless though. _He really thinks that I'll fancy him someday. Fat chance._

"Hello, Evans," James said casually when he finally reached her on the platform. She had certainly expected this. He was always trying to talk to her, although he made it rather impossible for himself by acting so pompous.

"_So_ nice to see you," she replied acidly. He was the last person she wanted to talk to, and yet already doomed to do so during the train ride. _Another downfall to him being Head Boy_. They were made to share a train compartment, and living quarters. And a bathroom, _oh no, I hadn't even thought of that!_

"Thanks for the warm greeting," he said sarcastically, "partner," he added, now beaming.

"Oh _please_ don't even remind me," Lily said, "you're the absolute last person I would want as a 'partner'."

"You know Prongsie, if you want a warm greeting, you might want to call her by her _first _name," Sirius added, "you know, might help with the whole 'friendly' thing…"

Lily suddenly realized how odd it was he called her by her last name. If he wanted to date her, it might be awkward that he was constantly calling her "Evans." She really preferred he didn't call her "Lily" though, she certainly didn't feel 'friendly' towards him.

"…Sod that though, I'm all for it if you feel it necessary to keep her distanced, good plan that is,"

"Shut it, Padfoot," James said, although his eyes glittered happily through all his messy hair. "Anyway, I was saying before I was interrupted," he coughed loudly, "_Lily, _darling" he shot a glance at Sirius, while Lily groaned and covered her eyes, "I was thinking we should make our way to our _private_ compartments about now."

"_We_ are not making our way to our compartments, I can get there myself," Lily shot back. "Plus I haven't seen any of my friends yet, and I wish to say hello to them before being imprisoned with you for a few hours," Lily finished. She turned quickly on her heel and headed off to find her friends.

"Bugger, and I thought _I _was supposed to be the mean one…" James muttered as she walked off.

"I heard that!" They heard Lily call, as she shot an angry glare over her shoulder. James smiled stupidly.

Lily searched over the heads of the crowd for her friends as she fumed. The fact that James could be _so_ very pompous was baffling to her. He talked to her as if she was already his. Calling her _darling_, how annoying. She had told him in no uncertain terms how much she despised him on many occasions. He was always being so mean to people just because he thought they weren't good enough.

He was constantly badgering and hexing Snape at every chance he got. She certainly didn't think Snape was Prince Charming, but he already had plenty of punishment for being mean. He didn't have any friends… that certainly was enough penalty enough for his discourtesy.

Lily spotted a head full of honey brown curls and smiled. "Claire," she called out. The head turned to reveal light brown eyes and a smile.

"Lily! Hi, how are you?" she said while embracing one of her closest friends, "I missed you."

"Same here. My summer was fine," Lily answered, "I just had an unfortunate run-in with Potter though. I suddenly realized my pleasant but somewhat boring summer is turning into an infuriating and sleepless school year."

"Oh, yeah, I heard about your misfortune. Potter as Head-boy won't be so bad though. Just ignore him, and only approach him when called on for Head's duty. I do feel for you though,"

"It'll be bad having James Potter as Head Boy. You'll see," Lily uttered darkly. She felt her good mood of seeing her friend evaporate like a puddle in drought season. The thought of James as her co-Head was infuriating.

"Uh-oh, looks like somebody's caught a bad case of James-itus, and so soon in the year. Pity," she heard a friendly voice say from behind her. She spun around to see her good friend Phoebe standing with all her baggage on the platform. "Hey Lils. Nice to see you," Phoebe said holding her arms out for a hug.

"Hey there," Lily said accepting the offered hug.

"So James is really Head-boy, eh? What _is_ the world coming to?" Phoebe said with an over-exaggerated sigh.

"How long were you listening to our conversation?" Lily asked jokingly.

"Not like it was a long conversation or anything," Phoebe pointed out.

"True,"

"I wonder where Kyrié is… maybe on the train?"

"Doubtful, probably more likely late. She's never really been known to hurry to get to school if you know what I mean," Claire said, rejoining the conversation.

"Also true," Lily agreed. "Should we wait for her? Or board the train?" she wondered out loud.

"Let's just get on the train, my trunk is looking like it's about ready to burst," Phoebe decided.

"Alright," Lily and Claire agreed simultaneously.

At that moment the train whistle blew. It was finally time for her to meet her destiny in the Head's compartment. _ More likely that I'll meet my doom, _she thought gloomily. She wouldn't know until later that it really was her destiny that she was going to confront.

"There's the whistle," Remus commented.

"Yes indeed… are you off to meet your Lady Love then, James?" Sirius joked.

"Hey, I wouldn't call it _love_ really. More of an infatuation, I'd say. But yes, I am off to meet her, and hopefully snog her senseless." James said, embodying in one sentence everything Lily hated.

"Right then. Have a good snog," Sirius said, deciding that snog was a better word than day, that _was_ what James was planning, after all.

"I'll make sure to, you all have a good time too," James said. "See you at school," he added as an after-thought, even though they of course would all be seeing each other once at Hogworts.

He began wandering to the front of the train where his compartment was, and where he hoped to locate Lily. He was pleased to find that Lily was already sitting on the seat, reading, and paying no attention to him. This gave him time to arrange himself. He casually leaned against the doorframe, propped up on one elbow.

"Hello my dearest Lily-Flower," he said, attempting to be suave.

"I'm never going to be your Lily-Flower. Or anyone's. I hate that nick-name," she replied coldly, while not looking up from her book.

James read the title; it was called _Kissed by an Angel_, and looked like some muggle trash romance novel. The cover did nothing to dispel his theory. It pictured a blonde teenager being kissed by a brunette male-angel. The entire background for this corny moment was pink lace.

"Ugh," he gagged involuntarily. He despised mushy, corny, or sappy novels about love. They repulsed him. He hated how unrealistic they were. Love wasn't always beautiful, or satisfyingly X-rated, as many of these novels were. Something about Lily thinking that love was this false really upset him.

"Why do you even bother reading that trash?"

"How would you even know? Have you read this book? Highly doubtful in my opinion," she scoffed while finally looking up from her paperback.

"Thank God I didn't read that book, is all I have to say. I'd probably spew my lunch,"

"Just because you don't have a romantic bone in your body doesn't mean the rest of us can't enjoy people loving others," she spat. "Then again, I wouldn't expect a person like you to know anything about love or kindness,"

"Shut your mouth!" he practically yelled, "how is it that you say I can't imagine loving somebody, when you are the one who _refuses_ to go on a date with me? I'd say I'm far more in love with you than you will ever be with anyone!"

She went momentarily white, immediately recomposing herself. "You don't love me. Nor will you ever, because I will never give you the chance."

James wanted desperately to disagree with her, but hadn't he just a few moments ago told his friends he didn't love Lily? Why had he implied to her that he did?

"I'm sure as hell going to try," he said, his anger vanished.

Lily softened somewhat, but she refused to herself to let James have the last word. "You will never succeed."

He slumped onto the seat opposite of her, letting his head hang down, loose on the end of his neck. He sighed deeply. "I think by now you know my knowledge of the fact that you think that will never slow me down. Ever." He said, peering up on the last word at her over his glasses through his overly long fringe. For once he looked solemn.

"Sure, but that doesn't mean you'll win. I am not, and never will be, yours. Do not think that I feel sorry for you right now. Believe me, I just don't like you enough to feel bad for you," she replied with a tone that almost said she _liked_ making him feel worthless.

"Don't worry. I don't feel bad, therefor, do not need you to feel bad for me, nor would I want you to in the event of my sadness. That will never come to pass though, because I know that someday you'll be mine. It keeps me elated at all times of day," he said smiling, quickly regaining his very large self-esteem.

"Whatever Potter. You may think that, but some day I'm sure you'll come to the realization that you were wrong. Unless by some miracle, you stop being so stuck up, self-centered, or mean, I will never even like you. Sorry," she began peering out the window with great interest, apparently trying to avoid another row.

Although she insisted on James never getting in the last snarky comment, she really didn't enjoy fighting. He really was the only person that managed to get her so angry. Lucius Malfoy was surely a snobby pureblooded twit, but it's just that that's all he was, a twit. His comments didn't really bother her as much, although they were rude and mean, but he just wasn't as bad. She certainly had dislike for Malfoy, but not the loathing she had for James.

James also began to look out the window. As the hills and farmlands passed by, he began to ponder why he had said he was in love with Lily. He probably just wanted to prove he wasn't completely hopeless when it came to being romantic. How was he ever supposed to get Lily on a date if she didn't think he could be romantic? That was probably it. Without thinking, he had just said that to get her to believe he wasn't all about pestering Snivelus. Although he did certainly take pleasure in doing that.

For a long time they both thought of each other, and many other things. Eventually the snack trolley came by their compartment. James rattled about in his pockets until he finally produces a few silver sickles. He bought a few chocolate frogs, two sugar quills, a small package of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, and three pumpkin pasties. The large amount of candy sat on the seat next to him, organized into their separate candy types, in nice neat piles.

When the woman with the trolley asked if Lily wanted any, she immediately began rummaging in her pockets for a few knuts while mentioning it would only be a moment, only to find she had left her money in her trunk. "Bugger," she swore softly, then more loudly apologized, "Sorry, I forgot my money in my trunk."

After the cart was safely on its way, while the trolley-woman grumbled about time wasters, James offered some of his goodies to Lily. She eyed the heaps of candy suspiciously, but her mouth watered. She loved sugar quills more than any other food in the world.

After her long self-debate she finally answered, "fine. I'll take a sugar quill... Please," she added as an after thought. _Must not stoop to his level of rudeness._

Although she found James to be constantly rude, she reminded herself she had to show him that she was on a higher level than him. If she began to be as rude as James, then what was her excuse for not going on a date with him?

James had been hoping Lily would for once allow herself to accept a favor from him. Because she accepted the candy she one: admit she did not think he would drug her, two: get herself used to thinking James was generous, and three: without knowing, concede to him her favorite type of candy. He might find this piece of information useful in the future, _Note to self: Lily…Candy…Sugar quills._

"I'll have one too then," James said more to the sugar quill than to Lily, as he picked it up and looked at it like there was nothing else in the world for him. "These are my very favorite candies. Ever," James again told the quill.

"Mine too," Lily said. Then she realized that she had just agreed with James on something. They both seemed to realize this at the same moment and looked up at each other. Each looked equally surprised at what she had just done.

Unlike in Lily's romance novels, she did not suddenly realize that she could fall into his hazel eyes like deep pools and drown in their beauty. She felt revolted that they had almost just shared a moment and looked away grimacing.

"Umm, then, why did you only buy two? And so many of the other types of candy?" Lily quickly said, breaking off the moment.

James had almost forgotten they had ever been talking about sugar quills. Ironically, James, being the one believed romance novels were full of trash, _had_ indeed been thinking about how beautiful Lily's green eyes were. _As green as the ocean, even greener really, _he had been thinking when she suddenly looked away.

It took James a moment to answer her question. "Well, because you can't have too much of something you like, or, I suppose you stop liking it. Right?" James answered solemnly, although not very eloquently.

_I suppose that makes sense. That is the second time James has been serious during this train ride. It must be a record, _Lily thought to herself, but then something occurred to her, that didn't at all fit with what James was saying.

"If you can't have too much of something you like, then why can't you ever leave me alone?" In any other case, this would have seemed like a really self-centered thing to say, but when it came to Lily and James, this statement was a completely normal thing to ask.

"Lily, I still don't have you, therefor, this statement completely doesn't apply,"

"Well, I'd say you have altogether too much of me as it is. I at least certainly have enough of you. Might I also, yet again, point out you will never have me,"

"Well, like I said, it's only a matter of time until your only occupation in the world is snogging me. Maybe after a while of that I'll be tired of you,"

"I can't even believe somebody could be so oblivious. I will never snog you, muchless make it my only occupation in the entire world. Don't you think that in maybe in some alternate universe where I actually _would _go out with you, I would have other ambitions of my own? And you're just so inconsiderate! How could you possibly have the cruelty to make girls fall in love with you, and then decide that you're tired of them! Wait, I know how you could be that mean… you are after all JAMES POTTER! Only you could ever have possibly made me this mad with ONE SINGLE SENTENCE!" Lily raged. She had started her statement at a normal tone, but as her anger had escalated, she found herself standing up, fist in air, shouting. She suddenly felt embarrassed about her reaction and sat down. She glowered at James through her fringe anyway.

"Well I have a few comments about what you just said. Number one: if we were in a alternative universe, therefor opposite universe, in which you dated me, yes, you would care about only me and our snog sessions," he paused here for his theory to sink in. "Two, you have brought me to a realization, and for that I thank you," he again paused, believing that if she saw how grateful a person he could be, she would stop glowering. She glowered further, annoyed that she gave him any assistance in his Quest to Annoy. He plowed ahead, "this realization is that, yes, I have made girls tremble in my awesome wake, hang on my every word, shiver at my every touch, bat their eyelashes at my every passing—"

"I already know you're full of yourself, get on with it already!"

"Fine. Ruin the fun. I was getting to it. As I was saying, they adore me, only to have all their hearts broken because I get tired of them as soon as I have them. But it's different with you. I think, maybe, that I'll never get tired of you Lils. I'm not saying I'm in love with you here, so bear with me," he said, trying to avoid another awkward moment surrounding the word _love,_ "but I more than like you.

"With those other girls, they're cute, but that's it, although cuteness _is_ a requirement. Anyway, I stop enjoying them after too much, because I get tired of them. Like with sugar quills. I can't have too many, or they'll no longer provide any entertainment. I don't like them enough to never get tired of them. With you Evans, I like you too much to just stop liking you any more, to get bored. You will never bore me," James finally ended.

Lily looked stunned. That was definitely the nicest thing he had ever said to her, even though his big head kept interrupting at irregular intervals. Lily stopped glowering, although she had no idea what to say.

"Mmph," she finally decided was the best she could do vocally at the moment. And yet she simply couldn't let him get away with saying something nice to her. He was never _ever_ nice, there had to be some loophole in what he had said…

James took her non-snarky reply, and completion of glowering to mean she accepted what he said. He was very pleased with himself for expressing his beliefs towards her without starting another argument. Progress _and_ success in one go. _You are the man James, ooh yeah, _was what he was smugly thinking when Lily suddenly piped up.

"Well that's all very nice. I just have one thing to ask though. Do you really see me as something that would 'entertain' you? I would simply 'never bore you'? That's gentlemanly of you to say so, Potter," she said in a mock polite tone.

_Oh great, she's taking it all wrong. As always._ "No, you're overreacting, I was—"

"Overreacting? That's funny, it seems to me when a person says that I am different because I never bore, and that I'm not like a sugar quill because I will also never stop entertaining, that they intend for me to entertain them. Smooth Potter. Never mind about intellect, wit, or God forbid _Love, _it's all about you not being bored,"

"Merlin! You cannot simply accept the fact that I am not a total jerk, and _can_ actually try to be nice on occasion! I was trying to say that you will never bore me _because _you have intellect, you will always entertain me _because _you have a sense of humor and wit,it's all _because_ I _LOVE_ you! It has _everything_ to do with those things! How shallow do you really…" James trailed off after realizing for the second time in one train ride, he had said he loved her.

Just few hours before he had said he wasn't in love. He looked at Lily who was also looking back at him. Could he really love her? Everybody knew that he was obsessed with her… but love? He really had no reason to love her. All they ever did was fight. She was beautiful and smart, but he really barely knew her for everything he was always saying. Why would he keep saying he loved her though if he didn't?

"Maybe James Potter, maybe you really meant what you said. I wouldn't exactly place a huge bet on your truthfulness though. I just want you to know that, yes, I do think you're shallow and, no, I do not think you love me," Lily replied without any expression in her voice or face.

"I don't know either," James said truthfully while staring out the window.

"I'm going to go change into my robes. Then I'm going to go to my friends compartment to say 'hello' to them, and maybe patrol the hallway. I'll probably not be back," Lily explained as if to a two-year-old, while sliding open the compartment door. She exited, and true to her word did not return.

"Uuuugghhhh…" James groaned. Lily Evans must have been the most complicated girl in the world. She was very much like a gift basket of complexity. Not only did you get the difficult girl, but your very own perplex feelings were thrown in for no extra charge.

"Mmmmbllaaa…" he muttered nonsensically, as he began thumping his head against the windowpane. _I don't know what to do. Change my personality? Be courteous? Switch my hair? Contac lenses? _He thought desperately,_ more studying? No, _he thought firmly and stopped bumping his head on the window, _I will not give my free time up for studying just to impress her. I like free time, maybe even more than Lily._ James was maybe the laziest person in the whole world, with the smallest work ethic. Looks aside (and his outrageously hilarious sense of humor), even _he_ was surprised at being elected Head Boy.

He returned to his thoughts of Lily as he stared out the window. The view was now getting dark, but he could still make out the outlines of dark blue mountains, encrusted with dark green forest. The last wisps of pale orange light were slowly disappearing out of sight, sinking lower than even the deepest valley floor. He soon abandoned hope of seeing anything interesting as the whole world was finally engulfed in veiled light from the sliver of the moon.

He shut the curtains of the compartment and quickly changed into his robes. James pocketed the rest of his candy, most of it uneaten. His row with Lily had been quite occupying; normally he would have already finished all his sweets. All he could think about was Lily.

He realized the train was finally slowing to a halt. He saw at a distance the great castle looming above the grounds of Hogworts. His heart beat with anxiety and excitement. This year was his last, and would probably be his busiest. With his new duties as Head Boy, N.E.W.T.s, quiddich, and his pursuit of Lily on a whole new level, he imagined this year to be frantic. He also envisioned it being a lot of fun too though. Despite his work load, he would still have his friends, he was graduating, and, of course, he was sharing living quarters with Lily. Not too shabby.

The train came to a complete stop, and he heard the conductor's voice telling them that they had reached Hogsmede Station, and that they should be ready to disembark from the train soon, their baggage was to be brought to their dorms.

James got off the crimson colored train onto the platform, already filled with people. He spotted his friends climbing from a car into the crowd.

"Hey! You guys!" he called and headed after them.

:AUTHOR'S NOTES:

**One**: Review. Please. **Two**: If you have _any_ criticisms, corrections, whatever… please do tell me. I want to become better. But please, no flames. Not appreciated. **Three**: If you have any stories you are working on, and ever want to tell me… please do! I love to read anything, and am always looking for stuff to read. Okay… hope you enjoyed it!

:REFERENCES:

**One**: _Kissed by an Angel_ is a real book written by Elizabeth Chandler.

Yes I do confess to reading it. Yes, the cover is exactly how I described it. And yes, it is ridiculously addictive, I could not put it down. I do not blame Lily for reading it. And lastly, yes, it does have quotes such as : _she found herself falling into his dark brown eyes and drowning in them._ If I ever write anything as sappy as this, e-slap me, please. In such cases as these, I'll accept flames.


	2. To the Castle

CHAPTER TWO: To the Castle

Lily jumped down off the train car into the swarming platform at Hogsmede Station. Soon after her followed Kyrié, Claire, and Phoebe. As each of them hopped down, their shoes clicked gracefully on the paved ground.

"Should we get a carriage?" Lily asked, turning towards her friends. As she spun around the light caught on her Head Girl badge and reflected into her friend's eyes.

"Ouch Lily, thanks for blinding me!" Claire said jokingly as all three winced away from the beam of light.

"Of course we should get a carriage… what else would we do?" Phoebe said, once again making a very obvious point. She made a face as if to say 'duh.' Everyone smiled.

They soon found an empty carriage, and all clambered in. They were the perfect number to fit in the seats comfortably and symmetrically. Despite this fact, they all lurched into each other as the carriage suddenly started off. When they finally regained their composure Kyrié finally asked the question that had been on all of their minds.

"So. Lily, what happened with James in your compartment on the train?"

"Well.. it's a long story. Pretty much he was a jerk," Lily answered simply.

"P'ff! Lily, tell us more than that, at least!" Phoebe protested.

"Fine, fine. So demanding you all are!" Lily then began to recount the entire story of the train ride. When she was finished, all of her friends were at first silent.

"Ugh. What a slagger-bagger whore-bitch," Phoebe finally offered.

"But he said he loved you! Twice!" Kyrié half-squealed, half-giggled. For the most part, Kyrié was a funny yet subdued person. For those did not know her well, these excited outbursts would have seemed strange. Her friends were completely used to them now, for she was prone to have them at any exhilarating moment.

Kyrié didn't like James at all. It could almost be argued that she hated him as much as Lily. She hated people that were mean to people that didn't have friends, or that were already miserable. James was exactly that type of person. Her vegan half was instinctively opposed to all of the cruelty James displayed. She was certainly not happy because it was _James_ that loved Lily, simply that she _was_ somebody's love.

"I dunno why you're so excited. I would rather he not 'love' me," Lily complained.

"Yeah, but it's just that _somebody_ loves you. That's all. I do hate him, ugh. So much. I was excited… but now I feel kinda… revolted," she shuddered involuntarily, "And I'm sure there are plenty more _good_ people out there who like you too," she glanced around at her friends, whose faces were blank. "What? I'm just saying it's cool that someone's in love with Lily! Gosh!"

"Yeah, I guess it is pretty nice. Then again, it is Potter," Claire said. "Well, you win some you lose some…"

"I'd say this is mostly loss here. I don't know if he even meant it though. Don't get your knickers all in a twist," Lily said, very annoyed still with the whole situation.

"Mmm. Yeah," Phoebe murmured her consent, while making a sour face. "Kinda sucks. Then again… it is kinda sweet. You have to admit. James might mature, some day. If he did grow out of his childishness, I think you too would be cute together, now that I think about it…"

"Hey, yeah, I can see that…" Claire said almost enthusiastically.

"All my friends are turning against me!"

"No, we're not. All we're saying, is that although it _is_ Potter we're talking about here, it's sweet he's 'in love' with you," at this Claire used quote marks, and Kyrié giggled. "And you two would make a cute couple, based on looks that is," Claire finished the last part quickly.

"Turning! You're all turning!" Lily shouted dramatically, while tossing her arms high in the air, narrowly avoiding Kyrié's face. "Oh, sorry…" Lily apologized while laughing anyway.

"That's okay. Back to Potter. Okay, I disagree with you two," she gestured at Phoebe and Claire, "that Lily would look good with James. Now don't all yell when I say this… but based on looks alone, I think Lucius is way better," Kyrié said, waiting for everyone to start protesting.

Sure enough cries went up at once. "No way!" "Oh my god!" "Even _I _think James is better!"

"Gosh, you guys have no sense," Kyrié accused, "Blondes are sooo much better."

"I hate the way James looks, and I still think he's better. I hate blondes," Lily said.

"You all will just never agree with me on this…" Kyrie sighed.

"Yeah," Claire said, nodding.

"You know I almost missed the train today," Kyrié said, changing the subject.

"Yeah, we figured you'd be late," Phoebe said smiling, "You're never on time to class, so why should you be to the train?"

Everybody laughed as they continued to discuss their "punctuality disability" as they liked to call it. Everybody except for Lily could hardly ever get to class on time. They tried to recall how many times they had been to detention for it, while Lily half-heartedly scolded them. This continued until the carriage finally came to a lurching stop. All the girls laughed again as they fell onto one another unceremoniously for the second time that night.

James climbed into his carriage, and Peter promptly sat next to him. Remus and Sirius followed next sitting across from them. James looked at his three friends and considered telling them that he had said he loved Lily. While he had been alone after Lily left him, James had thought about what he had meant when he uttered the three meaningful words: I love you.

He had finally come to the conclusion that perhaps he _did _love her after all. Maybe without realizing it, his self-titled "infatuation" had in fact turned into something deeper. But how could he love a person, despite all his talk, who he really barely knew? And what was the point of loving a person who made it a point of hating him? He was going to make her love him. Some people claimed that love couldn't be forced, but he was going to try his hardest to change the way she thought of him.

James had made his decision. "Guys…" he tentatively began.

"What's up Prongs?" Sirius inquired.

"I, um, told Lily something on the train today,"

"That she was an amazing snogger?" Sirius hopefully asked. "I assume that would of course be _after_ you had snogged her, am I right?"

"No. Wrong," James sighed deeply, and then continued, sounding hurried, "I told her, that I loved her."

"Ha! I bet knowing her that _that _worked really well. Sure she was just chuffed," Sirius said laughing.

Remus a very different point of view concerning the matter. "You shouldn't say that if you don't mean it James. You told us just before you got on the train that you didn't love her. Which one is it James?"

"I think I really, maybe, do," James said carefully, "I thought about why I would have said it if I hadn't meant it, and finally decided I really _might _have meant it" He paused and thought carefully about his choice of words, "I don't know exactly how or why this happened, but I need a plan. I want to change her opinion of me."

"Okay. First off, those glasses simply _must_ go. And that hair! Oh honey, this is going to take a while. Oh _dear_. I almost _completely_ forgot about that _personality transplant,_" Sirius said jokingly doing his best impression of a gay stylist, while he inspected James's hair with an over-exaggerated look of disapproval.

"Go shove it Sirius," James said grumpily, swatting Sirius's hand away. Sirius just grinned at his best friend, but was silenced when they went over a bump and he hit his head on the ceiling of the carriage.

"Ouch,"

"James, you can't just make somebody love you. That's pretty unlikely, don't you think?" Remus asked James without waiting for an answer. "It wouldn't be real if it was forced."

"I am not forcing it. I am guiding it,"

"I, I think that Remus is, um, correct on this one, sorry" Peter said meekly, having not yet spoken during the whole ride.

"Thanks for everybody's support. Okay, you may not think any of this will work, but could you please just try to come up with a few ideas? What could I do? Help me, please, guys," James pleaded, which he hardly ever did.

"Fine. It won't work though," Remus said, restating his opinion.

"Yeah, more like it will go down in flames and smoke. And then it will smash pitifully against the ground. And then the pilot, being you, will have his entrails spilled all over the burnt and desiccated wasteland that is your heart," Sirius said rather dramatically. Everybody laughed but James.

"Shut it Padfoot! I'm really really ridiculously good-looking. That alone should be able to seduce her."

"Right, because that worked _so_ well in the past," Remus said as the carriage at last halted.

:AUTHOR'S NOTES:

**One**: Chapters to come include the first experience with shared bathroom, and living quarters. Read and see what fascinating events occur! **Two**: Review and tell me your favorite characters, so I can know who to use more often. But mostly, just review. I beg you, even though it's annoying, I know.

:REFERENCES:

**One**: "…really really ridiculously good-looking,"

– Derek Zoolander, from Zoolander. Best movie of all time.

**Two**: "Slagger-bagger whore-bitch," this cunning saying was borrowed from my friend: 'real-life Phoebe', said by: 'story Phoebe.' Don't sue me Phoebe, please. I know I borrowed this saying without permission, but it isn't copy-written is it? Just joking.


	3. Night One

CHAPTER THREE: Night One

During Dinner Lily intentionally avoided James and sat at the opposite end of the table with her friends. They always ate every meal together, even though they spent all their classes together anyway. She soon forgot all about James as she began to catch up with her friends and greet acquaintances.

James had surprisingly also decided to avoid Lily. He had already bothered her enough for one day. He really did enjoy being around her, and he even enjoyed the arguing to some extent. James had decided because he had not yet formed a plan to seduce Lily, the best thing to do was to let her cool off. It wouldn't be very advisable to blindly begin annoying her when she had just stopped being pissed at him. He did decide however to watch her closely, in case anything she did would help him with Operation Lily, as he had fondly named it.

As he observed the specimen, he was amazed at the rate that she managed to shovel in her meal. Even as she spoke vigorously to her friends, she managed to consume an amount of food that even James would have a hard time topping. Somehow he found it very endearing that she had very masculine eating habits. The really hot part was that she still managed to look fabulously thin.

"Prongs, aren't you supposed to be acting like a human vacuum cleaner right now?" Sirius asked about his friends pause in ingestion, "guys, I think this may be a first… James is not eating at the fastest rate known to mankind. I may very well be concerned."

"Hey you're right… are you feeling okay there bud?" Remus said, joining the mockery.

"Shut up, I'm observing the specimen…" James said attempting to differ his friend's snide comments. His attempts were a failure.

At first his friends looked puzzled. Slowly they all noticed at what he was looking at, and as usual Sirius felt the need to comment, "what a cute little pet name. 'Aaaw, specimen, I love you too. No _I_ love you more, you cutesy-wutesy. No, _you're_ the best little specimen ever, aaaww. You're just too _cute_ in that petri-dish! I love you too…'"

"Padfoot, would you please not? I am trying to concentrate here. Operation Lily will never succeed if you keep on like that,"

"He has possibly gone mad in a matter of five minutes… he keeps making up very odd titles for things, and I fear we may need to get him to an institution…" Remus mock-whispered (really quite loudly) into Sirius's and Peter's ears.

"If you guys are going to talk, then please at least make it relevant to the subject, okay? If whatever you feel the need to say doesn't have anything to do with operation Lily, then keep it to yourselves!" James snapped, now thoroughly annoyed. He soon realized he was getting a few very odd looks and realized he had been half-shouting. He sheepishly began eating his food at a very fast pace indeed.

"Ignore him everyone! He's just possibly mad… nothing to see here!" Sirius belted out, waving his hands as if to say 'calm down, people,' but ended up just getting more funny looks from people than before.

"Thank you for your efforts, but I, um, fear they were unappreciated, the people remain restless," Peter told Sirius, attempting to look grave. James continued to consume his meal at a rapid pace.

"It's good to see you have your appetite back, pal," Sirius said clapping James on the back in a joking attempt to look encouraging, but it just ended up making James just choke on the chicken he had been swallowing. Most friends would have most likely said sorry or tried to at least undo the damage. Unfortunately James was not lucky enough to have friends that cared, and they just began to laugh at him.

"This way everybody, time to get back to the dorms!" Lily called to the tops of the first years' hair. _Surely I couldn't have been **that** short…_ Lily thought as she made commands to all she could see of their tiny heads. Even though she was not tall for her age she still loomed over the miniature eleven and twelve-year-olds. Lily decided that the prefects could handle the little ones by themselves. She just wanted to sleep. She told all of the prefects the password (dragon scales!) just in case of emergencies, and trudged up to the dormitory that she had gotten directions from Dumbledore to go to.

She entered the lush common room and, despite her fatigue, became excited as she looked around. The common room was almost as big as the Gryffindor one, and had very fancy furnishings. There were armchairs in every house color (an attempt at school unity), a fireplace (already lit), bookshelves, thick soft carpeting, and big wide windows that led to a balcony. In each back corner of the room there was a spiral staircase, one she assumed lead to the Head Boy's Room, and the other one to hers. She realized how similar this common room was to the Gryffindor one, besides it coloring, that is. Lily wondered if that was intentional to make those living there more comfortable.

She made her way up the staircase that led to the door marked _Lily Evans- Head Girl_, and went into her room. The furnishings there were very much the same as that of the common room, but it had a bed instead of armchairs. Her trunk was of course waiting for her, and she decided to immediately change into her nightclothes. She left her robes in a heap on the floor, ignoring her usual tendencies to tidiness. She pulled on her satin pajama bottoms that had a pink, black and yellow floral pattern, and her almost matching stretchy pink tank top as she passed into the bathroom, cosmetics in hand.

She had begun to apply the toothpaste to her brush when she heard James entering the common room. He apparently did not care half as much as Lily about the furnishing, because from the sound of it he immediately began to trudge up the stairs. She could hear him in his room, no doubt unpacking or changing. _No, I don't want to think about him changing, double gross…_ Soon enough he too came into the bathroom, wearing plaid flannel pats, and no top. _Just my luck, he sleeps practically in the nude!_ Lily thought melodramatically.

She realized she had not yet begun to brush her teeth, the tube of toothpaste still poised over her expectant (or would be, if not inanimate) brush. She applied the toothpaste as she had been meaning to do for so long, and finally began to brush her teeth. She looked at the sink trying to ignore topless-James, also going about his tooth brushing.

"Oh, um, I must have forgotten my toothpaste… could I please borrow yours?" James asked, realizing he had forgotten the probably most important toiletry. _Great, now she'll think I'm a slob with no regard to personal hygiene…_

_Great, now I have to look at him…_ Lily thought as she looked up and slowly nodded, handing over the Crest©. She was embarrassed that she finally had to admit he had one good feature, his body. She had never realized this before because, well, she had never seen him without a shirt on before. I bet every girl at Hogwarts would pay to be seeing this footage. Lily on the other hand felt embarrassed and a little annoyed. She really hadn't ever intended on admitting anything was at all adequate, much less spectacular, about James. She supposed it was from his many years of quidditch.

James had noticed that her eyes had been reluctant to look at his stunning and impressive torso, and that she had blushed just so slightly when she had finally done so. _Ha, maybe all I have to do is prance about topless and she'll fall for me. My features **are** fantastic,_ _after all, _he thought rather arrogantly. This was going to be easy…


	4. Dreams

CHAPTER FOUR: Dreams

Lily tossed and turned as she dreamt of James and all of her experiences of him. She remembered first meeting him in their first year, and immediately being repulsed. She dreamt of every time he had most angered her, or made the biggest impression on her. She most vividly remembered their encounter on the train earlier that night. When she woke up she was embarrassed to have been dreaming of him, even though it had not been particularly romantic. Any dreams of James were unpleasant to say the least.

One room away James was having ridiculous fantasies of Lily as he dreamt. 'Oh James I have realized you are a real _hunk_, but not only that, I love your humor and wit as well. Oh James, _I love you _too!' Dream-Lily cried as she began to passionately kiss him. He dreamt a few different scenarios, each time ending in a heated snog session. She quite often wore nothing but a skimpy schoolgirl outfit, which in his mind was nothing but an idealized Lily, studious but very _very_ sexy. When he woke up, he blushed to think of some of the detail his dreams had ventured into, and cursed himself for being so foolish.

While she slept in the Ravenclaw dorm room, Claire had dreams of Remus. He was so funny, but not nearly as mean as James. She had a dream that they were flying on a magic carpet together. She suddenly realized Peter too was on their carpet with them. He had always seemed like a nice person, and Claire dreamt she had a very pleasant conversation with him. She suddenly realized the hat he was wearing resembled something very much like an arse. She woke up confused and a little disgusted. _Ugh. Who the hell wears arse-hats?_

Kyrié was dreaming about Lucius. He was really quite horrid to Lily and Claire, who were both muggle-born, but she couldn't help but wish that his jokes were a little less mean. She dreamt that he was very civil, and that his cold face was nicely complimented by a rarely shown smile. He also enjoyed wearing makeup. He smiled patiently at her as she applied eyeliner to his pale lids. Then she delicately put on his lipstick. She woke up smiling at how fortunate her dream-self was.

Phoebe dreamt of James and Lily. To her, the hopeless romantic, it seemed that Lily should give James a chance. In the dream, Lily eventually began to see the good side of James, at it slowly emerged. He turned out to be a very nice person, as Phoebe had always hoped. Sirius as well turned out to be quite charming. Dream-Phoebe became quite fortunate when Sirius told her he loved only her, and tight leather trousers. As Phoebe reluctantly ascended from the dream world, she was very happy for herself even though it was a dream. When she remembered she had dreamt about Lily and James she wondered if it really ever would come to pass. She really hoped that James would shape up, and Lily would get to know him (and maybe love him), but was filled with a sense of forbidding.

Remus was also dreaming about James and Lily, but saw a very different ending. Their constant bickering kept on, and James's genius plan to seduce Lily failed miserably, as Sirius had prophesized. Then again, Dream-James's plan had been to walk about with no shirt on. Lily continued to hate James, and eventually pushed him into a vat of bubotuber puss, and everyone stood around watching. As Remus awoke, an early bird as always, he felt a little disturbed by his prediction.

Peter dreamt he was James's best friend. Sirius and Remus still tagged along, but he and James were the real leaders of the Marauders. All the girls fancied them, and all the boys envied them. James and Peter. Peter and James. Nobody could get enough. No longer was he the extra, he was the thing itself. Peter awoke with a severe sense of loss. _Why was it only a dream?_

Sirius dreamed he was in the middle of a group of gorgeous girls duffing each other up over him, and it included a lot of pinching. Eventually there was a pillow fight, and the girls ended up deciding they could all share him. When Sirius awoke, he thought nothing at all odd about his dream.


	5. The First Day

CHAPTER FIVE: The First Day

Lily woke up before James, of course. She went into the bathroom to perform her daily morning duties. Brush teeth, wash face, fix hair (always a tangled mess in the morning), and apply a little bit of makeup. She was just finishing up when James entered the bathroom without knocking, still in his scantily-clad sleepwear. Lily looked away quickly and began to clear off the counter of her many cosmetics.

"You know, it's impolite to not knock before entering a bathroom," Lily said, picking a fight with James as usual.

"You know, I really am too tired to care," he said mocking her know-it-all attitude.

"What if I had been getting out of the shower!" she asked outraged by his inconsiderate habits.

He eyed her up and down, paying close attention to her tight tank top, "I wouldn't really mind too much, to tell you the truth."

She was purely livid. "You—You PIG! How dare you? How do you think I am ever going to have any feelings for you besides pure _disgust_ if you keep acting so, so bloody fat-headed! You really took the cake there Potter, not only did you act _completely_ inconsiderate, but you also managed to make me feel really _really_ uncomfortable, not to mention assaulted. You obviously have no idea how girl's minds work, or you would not be constantly making sexual innuendos at every possible chance!" Lily yelled, the sound of her voice echoing off the tile floors.

"Nice to get that off your chest, eh?" James laughed. Lily found it incredibly not funny. "Well, I'll tell you now, I know plenty well how most girl's minds work, I did, after all, date almost every girl of a reasonable age that attends this school. It's really just you that confounds me. Your mind must be weird or something,"

"Actually my mind is not '_weird,_' thank you. I am not just as jelly-brained as any of those Hufflepuffs you've dated. Unlike them, I _don't_ find you attractive, and do not leap down your throat at the drop of a hat. See, to them, when you say you want to see them naked, they think it means you like them, thus they hastily rush to take off all their clothes. I, on the other hand, simply find it repulsive, and don't stand in line to become your next quick shag,"

"Lily, you wound me," James said trying to make his best puppy-dog eyes. Any other girl would melt with that look, whereas Lily matched it with daggers. She was a puppy-stabber. As this thought occurred to her, she almost laughed but managed to hold it in. James continued, "you don't think I'm attractive?"

"Is that the only piece of information you got out of that speech?"

"Well, I think you said something about leaping out of clothing to stand in line, or something…"

"You are even more vain than I could imagine, that's pretty damn vain,"

"What time is it?" James asked suddenly, yet casually.

"Bugger! I still have to change, we're gonna' be late because of you!" Lily said frantically checking her watch. She ran towards the door and out of the bathroom.

"Hey! How's it my fault?" James called as the door slammed. "Uuuuurgh…" he moaned angrily. He was making absolutely no progress on the Operation Lily front. He began to brush his teeth sullenly.

Lily entered the Great Hall with only the end of breakfast left. Her friends immediately began to ask her questions. "What was it like sharing a room with him?" "He wasn't an ass was he?" "Why are you late?"

"Woah there, people people, one question at a time,"

"Okay, first question. Why are you so late?" Claire asked.

"I got in a fight with James, okay next question,"

"Hold on, hold on. What about then?" Phoebe asked while expertly raising her eyebrows.

"Okay, so he said he wouldn't mind if he walked in on me getting out of the shower after I told him he should knock before entering, and I called him a pig, and well, it went on from there for quite a while,"

"Well who else here was a little confused?" Claire asked the group. Lily's three friends all raised their hands.

"Lily, you have to explain what—"

"No. Sorry. Next question. Pressed for time here people, I haven't even eaten, hello?"

"Gosh, okay. Did anything happen last night?" Kyrie asked, getting all giggly.

"Yes, right. I wanna' hear that too," Phoebe said, getting excited.

"For Merlin's sake, no! Why would you guys think that? Are you all rooting for James? I'm _deeply_ revolted…"

"We're just curious, gosh. Plus, maybe it's about time…" Kyrie trailed off.

"What? About time for what?" Lily inquired impatiently.

"That you got a boyfriend, okay? We said it," Claire answered.

"Not Potter, I'd rather die. Seriously. But I actually have sorta' been considering finding a suitable boyfriend,"

Oh really? Did you have anybody in particular in mind?" Phoebe said, again using her eyebrow techniques.

"No. Not really,"

"Oh, damn. It's time for class," Claire said checking her watch.

"I never got anything to eat!" Lily declared indignantly.

"Toast. Eat quickly," Claire said shoving a plain piece of toast under he nose.

"No jam?" Lily asked Claire.

"Oh come on Lily. Eat it!" Kyrie said.

"Fine I'll eat it on the way, we're late," Lily said, giving in to the bland breakfast.

"Not good to start the year with a detention," Phoebe said as they began the way to the Transfiguration classroom.

The rest of the day was entirely uneventful, Lily barely even saw James. She thought about what her friends had said about it being time to get a boyfriend. She had had others in the past, but nobody she ever really wanted to stay with, nobody she felt comfortable doing things with. She needed a person she could actually enjoy kissing, or maybe more. When she wasn't thinking about other things, she spent her moments to herself considering the male population of her school. She had most of her classes with at least one of her friends, so she mostly spent the day listening to the teacher's expectations and plans for the new school year, and talking to her friends quietly.

She got away with talking to the other girls simply because all of her teachers loved her. She was of course a good student (she was Head Girl, after all), but because she got good grades, all the teachers thought she was very well behaved. She loved it that way. She was certainly not as rebellious as her other friends, but she was certainly not the angel he professors saw her as. She liked to send notes, talk to her friends, procrastinate, and not participate as much as any other normal student. She had been drunk a few times, often went to the kitchens for food, and she had stayed out far past curfew on many occasions.

After all the classes were finally over, she decided to show her fiends her living quarters. She took them with her to the corridor in which there was a suit of armor that had the Hogwarts emblem painted on its chest. She whispered 'Dragon-Scales' into its helmet and the rusty old thing began to move. It reached out and grabbed a notch in the wall that turned into a door-handle, and opened the door made out of the wall for the four your ladies. It bowed as they walked through into the magnificent common room. Her friends all gasped and began trying out the chairs to see how comfortable they were. They turned out to be very comfortable indeed.

"This is great Lily! We are so hanging out here from now on," Claire said as she bounced up and down, testing out the couch.

"Sure, I warn you though, James will be here,"

"Whatever, we can just ignore him," Phoebe said as she lounged in a very comfortable armchair.

Lily decided to bring up the topic of the boyfriend hunt. She had been doing a lot of thinking about it, and thought she should ask her friends' advice. "Hey, you guys. I want to talk to you about my quest for a boyfriend, okay?"

"Okay," Kyrie said turning her full attention to Lily.

"Now don't interrupt, okay? I just want to say it without having to—"

"Alright alright, come on!" Claire urged Lily impatiently.

"You do realize you just interrupted me. Anyway. So, at first I was thinking I wanted to date somebody that I'm really attracted to, like, real sparks, or whatever. Then I thought about it, and couldn't think of a single guy at this school who does that for me. Besides, if I _did_ find somebody, I would grow all attached then go to college and be depressed without them. So, I've decided that I want to have a boyfriend that I can have fun with, but feel no remorse in leaving. I think that will be a lot easier to find at this school than a person I actually love, or whatever," Lilt finally finished.

"You and Potter were meant to be," Claire joked.

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked, rather annoyed.

"Well, he doesn't date people because he actually has feelings for them, but because he wants someone who's good looking, and good at snogging. That's exactly what you were suggesting," Claire explained.

"I wasn't! First of all, I want to have a person who will willingly date me under these conditions, someone who feels the same way. So they won't be getting used technically, because they're doing the exact same thing with me. I also have no rules about whether or not they are good-looking, although I admit it would be preferable,"

"Hey, I have another question. When you say: 'a boyfriend to have fun with,' what type of 'fun' are we talking about here?" Phoebe asked, once again expertly showing off her eyebrow skills.

"Well, all kinds…" Lily said, blushing.

"Oh yay! That's so exciting!" Kyrie burst out suddenly.

"Well, this a bit awkward of a topic for me, but here goes. I think I'm getting old to be a virgin. I am going to be 18 in 4 months and I've barely got past snogging. There you go. I want to have sex,"

"You are just like Potter! You're going to date someone just so you can get a good shag out of them! I can't believe it!" Phoebe laughed.

"I already explained this to you, I'm not using him. We are using each other. For sex. Okay? And that's only if I can find a person willing to do this, that I wouldn't mind shagging. Who is good looking, and not all attached to relationships?"

"Haha! Do you know who you just described?" Claire asked.

"Umm, no?"

"James Potter!" Kyrie cried out in a fit of giggles.

"Did somebody just scream my name?" James asked as he came into the common room. He was followed by the rest of the Marauders, all of them looking very handsome as usual. "I was just showing my mates the luxury we live in, I hope you don't mind,"

"Why would I? As you should have noticed by now, I brought my friends too, obviously I don't mind," Lily stated calmly.

"I was just trying to be considerate, Evans. You're so touchy I just thought I would ask you if you minded. Obviously no good deed goes unpunished around here," James snapped back.

"Touchy? I'm touchy? Who the hell are you to tell me—"

"Lily, we're going into your room now. Like I said, ignore him," Phoebe said ushering Lily up the staircase.

"Ignore me? Why should she have to? She's the one always starting up—"

"Prongs. Drop it," Remus said while smiling at his friend, "They're already in her room, They can't hear you, no need to shout anymore."

Sure enough the girls were already in Lily's room back to their previous discussion.

"Can you believe that? They are so rude. What are their names again?"

"You don't even know their names? James, seriously. They are in our house. We have been having classes with them for seven years. You really need to pay attention to more than just Lily, I think she might have taken over your brain," Sirius scoffed.

"Why would she do that if she doesn't like me? Answer me that Padfoot,"

"That's a toughie," Peter said.

"Back to the matter at hand. The one with the curly brown hair is _Claire_, the one with the blue eyes is _Phoebe_, the one with the dark hair and eyes is _Kyrie_. Got that?"Remus attemted o clarify

"Wait, what was the last one's name? It's pretty weird," James asked stupidly.

Remus sighed, "_K'yeer_-ee-ay, got it, please?"

"Yeah, I got it now. Alright, now what we came here to discuss. The first prank of the year,"

"Right, anybody have any good ideas?"

"None," Peter sighed.

"Ooh! I got one!" Sirius said excitedly

"Does it involve whip cream, Snivelus's knickers, and a herd of flying giraffe?"Remus said all-knowingly.

"How did you know?" Sirius asked trying to sound let-down.

"Because you suggest it every year, " Remus answered.

"And every year the answer is 'no,' sorry bud," James added.

"Okay, let's brainstorm," Peter squeaked out.

As the boys continued planning their next prank, the girls sat in Lily's room discussing hr next boyfriend.


	6. AN I know I suck

Okay…

To anyone who might care for reasons entirely unbeknownst to me I am sorry I haven't updated since… umm… march? Yeah, it's pathetic but I have contracted a very serious and usually fatal disease… writer's block. At least with this fic. If I am ever inspired to continue I assure you I will, but at the moment I have mostly just enjoyed one-shots/drabbles/etc. again, I can't really think of anybody who would even care but until then hold tight and maybe someday I'll update. I want to continue but simply don't know where to go from here. I'm really sorry.

Bella (or Izzy… or Isabel… or just plain old Cheez Wizz… whatever)


	7. Development on the Front

CHAPTER SIX: Development on the Fronts

Over the next few weeks Lily saw less and less of James Potter, which suited her just fine. She avoided him at all costs, and as it turned out she was very skilled at this. His attempts to catch her alone in their common room, a classroom, (or any other conceivable location) were usually thwarted by her running away, or making sure to have group of friends with her at all times.

One day she casually mentioned to her friends, "so, I've been thinking about this whole boy thing…"

"Yes!" Phoebe burst out, "give us details!"

"What on earth? All I said is I've been _thinking_, not shagging like a mad whore," Lily pointed put. "Anyway, I've been thinking. I think I know the perfect person for my plan."

"Who, oh my gosh, who?" Kyrie asked expectantly, giggling as usual.

"Ok, don't scoff, let me explain… I think Sirius would be perfect."

"Sirius… Black?" Claire asked incredulously.

"Do YOU know any other Siriuses?" Lily scoffed. "Anyway, I think he'd be just right, because I mean come on, he's a total man-whore, he's fairly good-looking—"

"Fairly? Let's be honest, he is delicious!" Phoebe interjected.

"Okay, he's delicious," Lily added with a little smirk, "He's easy, fun, and, I dunno, he just fits my description. We would mutually use each other with no hard feelings attached! Pretty much, it's perfect."

"You realize there is like, a MAJOR flaw in your plan, right?" Claire asked, being far more sensible than Kyrie and Phoebe as usual.

"Yeah?" Lily asked defiantly.

"He's only James's bestest mate in the entire world. Hello." Claire pointed out.

"Oooh. That's true. And like, best mates just don't do that to best mates," Phoebe added.

"Do what?" Lily asked innocently, knowing the answer all along.

"James is like, totally in love with you, which is so sweet, and Black would never betray his best friend like that. It's just mean," Claire said, pointing out the obvious truth.

"I think it's FABULOUS," said Kyrie, "I mean, who doesn't want to shag Sirius Black? Of course, personally I'm more in favor of the sexy Lucius Malfoy, but I wouldn't object to Black either—"

"Okay okay," Lily cut in. "But what if… James didn't have to know?"

"Lily, you're crazy if you think Black would go for you at all," Claire toned in, the Voice of Reason. Lily protested in an offended type way, but Claire toned back in loudly: "Not because you're not a babe, but because he just would never do that to his dearest Prongsie, whether James knew OR NOT."

"Hmmph," Lily grunted.

"Hmmph is right, but you're just gonna have to deal with it."

"Tough luck, chum," Phoebe comforted her. "I, on the other hand, would have nothing in my way to shagging Sirius… no pesky James Potter messing things up…" Phoebe smirked jokingly.

"Oh shut up you prat," Lily said as she shoved Phoebe over in a playful way. "I'll get my way, you'll see," she said and smiled.

"So Prongs, my man, I noticed you haven't been seeing much of Lovely Ms. Lily lately," Remus asked one evening as they all lounged around in James's common room.

"She's been _avoiding_ me, can you believe that?" James huffed.

"Actually, yeah bud, I can," Sirius teased.

"Oh shut up. No, but seriously, she's stepped up her game, I never manage to see her any more. How is she doing this? I thought _I_ was the one with the invisibility cloak, not her."

"Actually, Prongs, you don't really have one right now. I sorta' borrowed it… you know I get hungry at night, and it's so hard to get down to the kitchens without it…" Peter started in.

"Yeah yeah, just give it back, you twat. But there are MORE pressing matters," James said, trying to get his friends to care about his girl problems.

"More pressing than _food?_" Sirius asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Lily. Lily is always more pressing than food. Yes, I would die without food, but I think I'd die without Lily. And speaking of which, I've been feeling a bit sick lately, do you think it's Lily withdrawal?" James rambled on.

"I think you're mad, but that's different." Remus added dryly.

"Haha. Ok, I need a game plan though guys… help me out. Pleeeeease," James begged piteously.

"Ok, I have an idea," Remus said after a moment of thought. He put down his book and looked at the Marauders with a look that meant business. "Now, don't start in on me like I'm crazy… but what if one of us, besides James, sort of, I dunno, got… closer with Lily, and I dunno… got to know her maybe? Then reported back to Prongs?"

"A: what does 'get closer' mean? And B: what makes you think she'd have us?" Peter asked cynically.

"And C: you can bugger me if you think I'd let that fly" James snarled. Clearly he didn't want anyone laying a finger on Lily.

"A: I think you know what I mean by 'get closer,' use your imagination. B: She'd have us because she's desperate. And C: I'd rather not bugger you James, thanks, I like you, but not like that " Remus replied very seriously.

"If she's desperate why won't she have me?" James asked huffily.

"Because she has this funny habit of thinking you're repulsive," Sirius replied cheekily.

"Shush, you." James said with a gesture implying he was silencing Sirius.

"I elect Padfoot," Peter added simply.

"What, why me? I mean, Moony is more her type. He's all smart and stuff," Sirius said suddenly taking this very seriously.

"And I think it's pretty clear you're all not smart and stuff… but Wormtail has a point. I mean, I don't do casual sex. And you do. Maybe it would be easier for you to woo her without any feelings attached…" Remus started, his mind whirring.

"I could never do that to Prongs!" Sirius burst out.

"He could never do that to me!" James simultaneously added.

"As long as you consented, James, I don't see how it would be a betrayal on his part…" Peter chimed in.

"You're certainly not helping," Sirius growled.

"Come on, some valuable information could really be gained out of this. It would ultimately end in your benefit, James, and nobody would get hurt… come one you two. It's a good idea," Remus weedled.

"Hrrmph," James and Sirius grunted. It was clear they were both beginning to cave.

"What do you say?" Peter asked tentatively.

"Ok, I'll give it a shot… but only if James consents," Sirius agreed grudgingly, glancing at James for an answer.

"Fine, do it, but if it goes too far, I officially get to call it off…" James said, trying to establish some sense of authority.

"I knew you'd come around…" Remus said smugly as he went back to his book. Each went back to what they'd been doing before, as though nothing had happened. Unbeknownst to them things would be happening very fast, and very soon.

:AUTHOR'S NOTES:

**One**: Yes, I'm baaaaack from the dead. For anyone that cares, I hope this pleases you. Hopefully I'll be doing more writing lately, and won't be struck down by the spite of writer's block again. **Two**: So, I hope you enjoyed. Pleeeease, I beg you, please review. **Three**: Yes, I totally know this was almost entirely dialogue, which I'm trying to cut down on. But then again, I haven't written anything on this story for about a year, so I'm a bit out of practice. Sorry folks.

Toodlepip!

--your Cheezy friend.


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